


When Hands Are Tied

by astudyinfic



Category: According to Hoyle - Abigail Roux
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Getting Together, Handcuffs, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22821151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: Nothing was going according to plan.  Rose and Cage were in the wind.  And they were here, cuffed to their cart.Washington would give Rose a piece of his mind when they caught up to him.  Once they got out of this situation.  He could only hope to do it quickly and with as little awkwardness as possible.But again, nothing was going according to plan.
Relationships: Eli Flynn/William Washington
Comments: 14
Kudos: 10





	When Hands Are Tied

This wasn’t how the day was supposed to go. 

Not that anything about this trip had gone according to plan. A simple prisoner transfer gone horribly awry. 

Some moments had been entertaining. Watching Flynn bristle every time Rose opened his mouth was hilarious at first but then Washington started to worry. He worried that Flynn was bristling because of Rose’s preference for men. A preference Washington not only shared but had left him completely focused on Flynn for the last few years. Washington supposed if you worked with someone long enough, you would eventually either love them or hate them. That had been the case with all his previous partners. But that love had been platonic, friendly. The love you feel towards a family member or close friend. 

What he felt for Flynn was different. It burned inside him like it would burst forth from his chest every time the other Marshal smiled in his direction. It was a secret desire that would have to remain secret as he had no idea how Flynn would respond. His arms ached to hold the other man, fingers itched to touch him. 

Which made this situation all the more difficult. 

“How did he manage to get the jump on us both?” Flynn was grumbling, wiggling next to Washington as he tried to find a way out of this. “They were tied up. They were handcuffed. There is no reason he should have been able to get out of his binds, let alone get to us and...”

He didn’t finish his thought but Washington knew what he was going to say. Somehow Rose had not only freed himself and Cage, but he’d managed to get the handcuffs on the two marshals while they slept, leaving them bound to the wheel of their cart. Cage and Rose were long gone, leaving the two lawmen and their horses out in the middle of nowhere. 

Not many men could accomplish such a feat but they were quickly learning that Gabriel Rose was not their typical bandit. Washington had a grudging respect for him, all things considered. It took guts to go after two Federal Marshals who slept fully armed and not only live but come out on top.

He blushed at that metaphor, thankful Flynn was behind him and couldn’t see the reddening of his cheeks. That would have led to questions he wasn’t prepared to answer. 

“Can you get to your key?” Flynn was asking as Washington mentally shook himself and tried to focus on the situation at hand. They both carried extra copies of their keys, as occasionally one disappeared while out on the trail. Rose had been thorough, but not thorough enough. Washington could feel his key just inside his back pocket, digging into his flesh where he sat on it. 

He sighed, there was no way he could get that key with his hands cuffed the way they were. But Flynn? Flynn could get it, horribly awkward though that might be. “No. It’s in my back pocket. If I raise up a little, could you get to it?”

Flynn jerked, a motion that sent the handcuffs clanking and raising questions in Washington’s mind. Why was Flynn shocked? Was he uncomfortable even touching Washington if it meant they could escape and track down their prisoners? Was he that uneasy about Rose’s (and Cage’s and Washington’s...) sexualities that he couldn’t bear to touch another man in even the most innocent of ways? Wash’s heart hurt but he kept his sadness to himself. It wasn’t his place to judge the man. He was the one whose desires were abnormal, not Flynn’s. “Yeah, I can get it,” Flynn answered eventually, voice sounding choked as he tried to go for casual and missed it by a mile.

Pushing himself up as best he could, Washington swallowed again, trying not to focus on Flynn’s fingers reaching for the key in his pocket. If Flynn got them undone soon, Wash couldn’t be hard when he turned around to look at him. It would be the end of their working relationship, he was sure. 

Closing his eyes and praying for strength, Wash breathed out a sigh of relief when Flynn slipped the key from his pocket and got to work on their cuffs. This wasn’t the first time either of them had been cuffed and he expected it wouldn’t be the last. That precious experience proved vital, however, as they were out of their binds within only a few minutes. 

Wash stood and dusted off his pants, trying not to think too much about anything in particular. When he turned around, his eyes met Flynn’s and he was surprised to see the blush on his partner’s cheeks and the almost shy way he glanced away immediately. 

Why would Flynn react like that? Wash had expected him to puff up his chest, laugh off the whole situation. Not...this.

Had he been reading this whole situation wrong? Was it possible that Flynn felt the same things for him that Wash felt for Flynn? Hoped bloomed in his chest and Wash had to fight to tamp it down. Flynn had never once let on that he liked men in that way, though Washington doubted he’d given Flynn any reason to think that he did either. Maybe this was just a situation where they were both so used to hiding that they’d hidden from the truth that was right in front of them the whole time.

Flynn’s eyes darted from Wash to the land around them, never staying in one place for more than a second. Wash could read his discomfort like a book and the hope inside him once more burst forth and nothing he did could contain it. “We... we should go after them,” Flynn mumbled, closing up the cuffs and putting them back in his saddlebag where Rose had stolen them from in the first place. “Can’t let them get too far ahead.”

Now that he could see it, Washington simply stared, a smile spreading across his face. How had he been so blind before? He took a step closer. “Flynn, I think we have time.” Flynn didn’t look at him, continuing to adjust the straps on his horse’s tack. “Flynn.” When that didn’t work, he placed one of his hands on Flynn’s and said, softer, “Eli, please listen to me..”

The use of his Christian name did the trick and Flynn’s eyes flicked over to him; apprehensive, wary, but there all the same. Wash didn’t know what it was that Flynn saw in his expression but some of the wall his partner had over his own emotions began to crumble in front of him. Flynn’s voice shook only a little when he asked, “William?”

Wash took the key from Flynn’s unresisting hand and slid it back into his pocket. Then he stepped closer until they were almost touching. He moved slow, deliberate, wanting to give Flynn every chance to move if he was reading this wrong. But in the end, it was Flynn who closed the small distance between them, pressing his lips to Wash’s. 

It was more than Washington could have ever imagined. And he’d imagined it a lot. Flynn’s lips were slightly chapped but warm and pliant and opened almost immediately when Wash sought entrance. Their arms wrapped around one another and Washington had enough sense to be relieved that Rose left them in the middle of nowhere. If they had this moment in the center of a town, things would get awkward for them very quickly. 

The kisses slowed, still passionate but once they knew the other wasn’t going anywhere, some of the urgency wore off. They rested their foreheads together, breathing the same air and basking in the joy of being with the one they loved. “We should...” Flynn’s voice sounded rough and Wash knew he would sound the same. Clearing his throat, Flynn gave him a bashful smile. “We should go after them before they get too far.”

Wash nodded, knew that no matter how new and exciting whatever this was between them felt, they had a job to do and neither of them would be able to properly relax before they could get it done. “If we hurry, we can still make the boat. Once they’re in New Orleans...” He trailed off, letting Flynn fill in the blanks.

With one last kiss, firm and almost possessive, Flynn mounted his horse. “Then let’s get on with it. The sooner we’re done the sooner we can continue...this.”

Washington climbed into the cart and urged the horses down the road. They had criminals to capture. And maybe thank. Who knew how long it would have taken them to come to this conclusion all on their own. Rose and Cage’s escape might have been the push they both needed. So Washington would definitely be thanking them. 

After slapping cuffs on them both.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Handcuff Day 2020 everyone!


End file.
